# Of Fat Virgins and the Mouths of Mice **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2000, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951 "2000-09-29T01:10:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![muffinman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@muffinman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muffinman)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2000, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/21 "2000-09-30T04:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Telemark \* > \*\*“Fat Virgin and the Mouths of Mice” would make and excellent name for a band. > \*\* Sounds like Blues Traveler to me! ---
**Author:** ![MysterEcks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MysterEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysterEcks)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2000, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/22 "2000-09-30T05:50:57Z")
And let’s not forget North East, Pennsylvania…which is in Northwest Pennsylvania. (It’s northeast of Erie, but that’s all it’s northeast of.) ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2000, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/23 "2000-10-01T17:49:38Z")
“Did I Say Something Wrong?: Coverslut, Tittup, Fartlek, and Other Innocent Words to Make People Very Uneasy” by David Grambs, published by Plume Books. [Possibly out of print, but the ISBN is 0-452-26831-1. Well worth the search.] Has a whole collection of common and not-so-common English words and phrases perceived as ‘dirty’, as well as an international tour of ‘…interesting…’ place names. Sections include agricultural terminology, job-titles, fashion, carpentry and many other subjects. And I am still waiting on explanations about how Newfoundland’s ‘Joe Batt’s Arm’ and ‘Dildo Run Provincial Park’ got their names. Anybody? As for “North East, PA”, I personally want to move to Long Island, NY and start my own town called “Upstate”. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/24 "2000-10-02T01:26:39Z")
I currently live in Boca Raton, and I’ve also heard a theory that the Boca Raton Inlet and its lakes were once refuges for pirates, and the “rats” actually refers to them. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/25 "2000-10-02T01:42:44Z")
Well _all_ the town names we wonder about don’t have to be sexually suggestive. I’ve always liked _Hot Coffee_, Mississippi. What was _Baton Rouge_ (red stick), Louisiana all about? ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/26 "2000-10-02T02:32:41Z")
::sigh:: Must I do _everything_?? From (yes, you guessed it) [Britannica.com](http://Britannica.com): > [@](#): > > The French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville visited the area in 1699 and observed a red cypress post (baton rouge) that marked a boundary between the Houma and Bayougoula Indians. screech: I thought I had found an element of solution for Joe Batt’s Arm, but it proved to be a dud. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/27 "2000-10-02T03:56:12Z")
Besides Joe Batt’s Arm, there’s also Jackson’s Arm, Robert’s Arm, Sop’s Arm and Norris Arm in Newfoundland. My WAG would be that _arm_ in these names refers to an arm of the sea. Newfoundland has a number of other odd place names. In addition to Dildo (mentioned earlier), it has Come By Chance, Heart’s Content, Blow Me Down, and Witless Bay. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2000, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/28 "2000-10-05T14:21:03Z")
Here’s the answer I received from Heather Cumming\*, Information Officer for Newfoundland Parks and Natural Areas: > [@](#): > > The name Dildo Run has a marine emphasis. In old Newfoundland English, “Dildo” refers to a harbour that will provide safety from a gale of wind or a storm. Thus, “Dildo” comes from a reference to the cove or harbour. “Run” refers to fast moving water. It must mean one of two things: > > 1. There is quite a bit of current either in the harbour or “running” along the entrance to the harbour. > > 2. Or, there is a channel entrance to the harbour that vessels need to follow so they don’t go aground and become stranded. This type of channel is commonly referred to as a “run”. > > This would be a logical explanation of the name Dildo Run for me. I hope it is of help to you. Interesting. \*Yeah, like I could have made THAT one up!😃 ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2000, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951/29 "2000-10-05T14:34:49Z")
Sounds linguistically logical. Thanks. [Re: the name - sounds like Officer Pigg working for the police department.] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/of-fat-virgins-and-the-mouths-of-mice/34951.md?page=1)